An atheist, a vegan, and a crossfitter walk into a bar…I only know because they told everyone within two minutes.

It’s funny because it’s true.

It only took me 9 seconds, the time for you to read that joke, to announce my current life as a vegan.

Every year I choose a random diet plan to educate myself about what I use as fuel for my body. It is not about weight loss. It’s about awareness. And this diet was significant. I started with information from the Netflix documentary Forks Over Knives. I read tons of articles and doctors point of views on eating vegan. I looked at recipes for a month before I decided it was something reasonable that I could do. Protein was not going to be an issue and being hungry never happened. I actually felt full most of the time. It was a challenge only to cut out dairy but I loved the experience.

Here are a few things happened while not eating animals:

1-ENERGY. I’m still exhausted the majority of the day, however, I noticed I’m not obsessing about wanting to take a nap every afternoon. In fact, since January 1st, I’ve only taken 4. Compared to usually trying to sneak in at least 3 a week!

2-CLEARER THINKING. I set aside time to meditate everyday and I’ve actually done it. A few reasons why I think I can concentrate more is because I think food allergies give me ADD.

3-SKIN. I believe it’s true what they say about dairy affecting your skin.

The hardest part was no butter. And cheese is a staple around here. I missed them both terribly. Surprisingly after only 2 weeks I didn’t crave any meat or dairy products at all. I’m a self-declared cheese addict who no longer feels the need to add cheese to every meal and snack. I learned that I was addicted to the casein, which is the protein in milk products. I won’t go into any more educational detail but I learned so much about food on this diet that I will not go back to my regular eating habits. I won’t be 100% because what fun is Thanksgiving without turkey and who wants toast without butter. But I can give veganism a hearty 98%.

66 days later and I ordered a vegan roll at Island Sushi. Our waiter informed us that all the speciality rolls were half off. Of course I ordered the baked scallops with eel sauce. It tasted like heaven but I didn’t need to eat it and I’m happy to eat meat on special occasions. (When bff’s come to town, it’s a special occasion, right?)

*Next diet starting in 2 weeks. 14 days of Vegan/Keto. I’m interested in learning about carb and protein balance. If you’ve ever done a Ketosis diet let me know how you liked it, what you did to stay motivated, and any tips you may have.